Your car pulls into the parking lot and you look at the clock on your dash. “Fifteen minutes before our meeting time,” you think to yourself. You planned your day so that you could make it a little early and buy our coffees and have our table ready before I arrive. As you make your way inside, you see me sitting at our table with someone else. You approach the table tentatively. I invite you over and greet you with a hug.

As you sit down you recognize Paige, the barista from the last time we met. You can tell by the crumpled napkin in her hand and red in her eyes that she’s been crying. As you catch her eye she gives a smile with an assurance that you wouldn’t expect from someone who has been crying. Paige says, “Well, I needed to get going anyway.” You apologize and say that you’re early and can excuse yourself. She makes it clear that she needed to be somewhere else a while ago. She shakes your hand, gives me a hug and heads out the door. As you turn your chair to face me alone you start to apologize.

Hey, let me stop you right here.  There is no need to apologize. I know you feel awkward, but that’s just because Paige was in a really raw place. She’d been saying for a while that she was late, so your timing was perfect. You know what, I’m going to ask Paige if she’d mind connecting with us the next time we meet. I think God’s doing some great things in her life right now that could give you some insight. So, how’d you like Romans? Pretty heavy, huh. You read the story about the woman at the well, and that’s like eating a tasty sandwich. Then you get into Romans and it’s like eating a big piece of steak. It’s a lot to chew, but totally worth it.

Romans is a great book when it comes to some of the deeper things of God. Paul, the author of the book, wrote it to a church that he’d never been to. It was like he wanted to share with the Romans a lot of deep thoughts that he didn’t have the chance to share in person. I am grateful that he didn’t get to share with the Romans face to face, because now we have this awesome book in the Bible. Now, with that said, it’s important to understand that the Bible is God’s Word.

Take a look at this verse, 2 Timothy 3:16. It’s in the New Testament towards the end of the book.  Look it up in your Bible.

So, that phrase “God Breathed” is important. God inspired Paul to write Romans. When John wrote the Gospel of John, the book you read the story in the other day about the woman at the well, God inspired John to write that story. Now both passages have the style of Paul and John, but they were inspired by God. He spoke through those two men.  It’s incredible to realize that the book you bought was “God Breathed.”  This might be confusing to understand, but it’s important. Some people may say, “Ehhh, the Bible is good and all, but it has some words that aren’t God’s.”  I can’t tell you how much I disagree. You may take this concept at face value, and that’s great. You also may have more questions and that’s great, too. The important thing to know is that the answers are out there to be found. Someone once said to me, “God isn’t scared by your scariest question.” That definitely applies here.

Back to Romans.  Sorry, I got sidetracked.  Wasn’t that a great part of the Bible? I love it because of how secure I feel when I read it. Here, open up to the passage, Romans 5:1-11. Now there’s a lot in there. Right in the middle are some great words about how suffering can turn into hope. I know that when I’ve felt down and questioned why I was born without arms and legs, that God answered by turning my suffering into hope. Now, that’s very encouraging, but that’s not why I asked you to read the verse.

Do you notice a word being repeated a few times? It’s a pretty big deal when you understand it.  It’s that word “justified.”  When this verse says that we as believers are justified, it’s saying we have a right standing with God. Verse 10 talks about how we are enemies of God. The idea here is that our sin puts us against war. But, then we were justified, made right with God when we turned to Him. Verse 1 in the chapter describes what happens when you give your life to God.  Through Jesus, you are given a standing of peace. It’s like your legal standing with God changes when you make that decision of faith.

So, you are no longer at war with God. There still may be times when you feel at war with God, but when that happens just remember, you’re really at peace. Now here’s something great, no one can change that status with God. Here, flip over a few chapters to Romans 8:38-39 and let’s read this verse together.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Amazing, right? Circle that word “convinced” in your Bible. Convinced that nothing could get between us and God’s love. Imagine over time, all the angels, all the demons, and all creation trying to get between you and God’s love, but to no avail.  When you think about that word justified, just remember that nothing can change your relationship with God.

Next time we meet, I want to talk about the church, so read Acts 2:42-47. Remember to ask these two questions; “What does this say?” and “What does that mean for me?”

See you tomorrow!

This time as we close in prayer, you find yourself talking more. As you speak, you start to realize that you’re not worrying about having the right words, you’re just speaking freely about how thankful you are that God brought you into peace with him through Jesus. In fact, when I pray, I simply thank God for our time and that’s it. As you give me a hug I say, “Prayer is getting easier, isn’t it?” You head out the door and are reminded of Paige. While your brain starts to swirl with ideas of what could be going on with her, you stop and think to yourself, “I should pray.”  Quietly in your car you take a minute to pray for Paige. A simple thought comes into your mind and as you start your car you feel peace, “Nothing can seperate Paige from the love of God.”